XP-30

Hello,
I just joined this site a few minutes ago and can see it was a wise move.
I have a Q; about the XP-30 synth.
I now own a Kurzweil k2000 which I plan on selling in order to buy an XP-30.
I think it has great value for the money but my only tiff is that when I play it at the store, it sounds rather thin. Perhaps it's just a question of getting used to it. Can anyone post some of your thoughts, whether positive or negative on this synth?

The Roland XP-10 is my main keyboard, along with a JD990 synthe module. I've also used the Roland A-90 on a couple of key projects I recorded in a bigger studio. These axes do not sound thin, on the contrary. I hate thin, thin is bad, and I will not tolerate it. Perhaps it was the monitoring setup in the store that was EQ'd badly, or was just a lame set of speakers? Sometimes a store monitoring system is set up by someone who really doesn't have the kung fu to get a great sound from an instrument, and that's why he's working in a music store instead of at Hit Factory. On the other hand, Roland gear does not skimp on high-end definition, and so if you're not careful to take this into consideration, they can tend to sound kind of shrill or brittle. You just have to roll off some of the high end. I do this with graphic EQ, starting from the top with a -8dB cut at 20K, and a smooth curve back to 0dB at around 4K. That's just a reference from which you can start with, and then experiment to get the best sound depending on the tone that you are using. Remember that you can also use the cutoff and resonance sliders on the keyboard itself to either calm down or brighten up a tone. And then there is compression, which, if applied intelligently, will even things out across the frequency spectrum. But you can definitely get warm, lush, phatt sounds from Roland keyboards. And because the high end is there, you can also get really crisp sounds as well when you need that.

Brooklyn...I used to have a girfriend in Brooklyn, but we fell out of touch over the years. I think she still lives on Atlantic Avenue, near the Promenade, where we would go with a bottle of wine or champaign to watch the sun set over Manhattan. On the CD I'm putting out later this year, there will be a song on it called "Foundations Of Modern Brooklyn" that's about that girl and those experiences. I remember there was a Chinese/French fusion cuisine restaurant on Montague Street that we used to go to for dinner, and there was a Polish or Ukrainian joint that we went to for brunch in the morning that was near the promenade. And then I'd eventually have to take the train back to Philly, all lovesick. Man, those were the days...